The Essence of My Book

Here’s one way to state the essence of my book, in the words of Spurgeon:

Be diligent in action. Put all your irons into the fire. Use every faculty for Jesus. Be wide-awake to watch opportunities, and quick to seize upon them.

That’s what I’m trying to help you do, and that’s why I wrote my book.

I spend the first part fleshing out what productivity really is from a Christian perspective and why it matters (namely, so you can maximally steward all your gifts and opportunities and faculties for the glory of Jesus); then in the rest of the book, I lay out practical strategies for actually getting things done in the midst of all the opportunities and distractions that constantly multiply around us.

The biggest influences on my book include, from the old days:

William Wilberforce

Jonathan Edwards

Martin Luther

John Calvin

Augustine

William Carey

Charles Spurgeon

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Jim Elliot (though I don’t quote him)

John Wesley

The Macadonian Christians in 2 Corinthians 8

The apostle Paul

Many others

And from the current days:

Jesus

Tim Keller

John Piper

JI Packer

Wayne Grudem

Peter Drucker

Tim Sanders

Keith Ferrazzi

David Allen

Stephen Covey

Seth Godin

Daniel Pink

Scott Belsky

Chip and Dan Heath

Marcus Buckingham

Many of my friends

Christians I’ve met around the world, both online and in person

Many others

What does someone like the 18th century theologian Jonathan Edwards have to say about productivity in the 21st Century? A lot. You’ll see when you get into the book. I think, perhaps, this conjunction of the old and the new, along with utilizing the best secular thinking within a robust Christian framework, might make it unlike any book you’ve read (in a good sense!). We’ll see.

In terms of the status of the book: we are still finishing revisions, but we do have a publication date which I’ll share with you when I have the time.

I just wanted to write this post up because I came across that Spurgeon quote again during the revisions, and wanted to share it with you.

Praying for you and Zondervan to be crystal clear on who specifically you want to serve most and best. Your topic is so enormous, and at the center of multiple wars within the various evangelical tribes – the social justice-ers vs. the Christian bunker-ites; the “redeem the city” people vs. the “flee to the hills, grow grain wait for Jesus to come get us” crowd”, the secular integrationists vs. the separatists, even the complementarians vs. the egalitarians!

I’m praying the book is a genuine thought changer, both about the nature and value of true Christian work, and about the gospel, which frees us to do it!